Method and apparatus for undulating textile goods and applying a base layer thereto



May 28, 1957 P. REINHARD 3,

' METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR UNDULATING TEXTILE GOODS AND APPLYING A BASE LAYER THERETO Filed Oct. 14, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet].

May 28, 1957 METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR UNDULATING TEXTILE GOODS AND APPLYING A BASE LAYER Tl-IERETO Filed 001;. 14, 1955 2 ShpetHhoet 2 -a' '1 "23 I a 2224. 22 5' 5 P. REINHARD 2,793,674

United METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR UNDULATING TEXTILE GOODS AND APPLYING A BASE LAYER THERETO The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for undulating textile goods and applying a base layer to the undulated textile good and more particularly to the production of carpets.

A number of methods and apparatus are known which serve the same purpose. These are mainly adapted to permit production of carpets of any type, while omitting the weaving operation, and in most cases, plushlike carpets, i. e. those in which the gauze is cut open are produced. The same methods and apparatus may, however, alsobe used for the production of boucl-carpets, i. e. such carpets where the undulated textile good is not cut. The present invention relates mainly to the so-called boucl-carpets, it being understood that according to the present invention also carpets of the normal plush-like type may be produced by cutting of the curls.

Previous methods and apparatus are very complicated. The machines used in their connection are therefore expensive, operate slowly and have very high costs of maintenance or produce boucls which are not fine enough.

Object of the present invention is the provision of a method and apparatus which permits carrying out the undulation by means of rotating parts which are of rigid construction. Due to the omission of all reciprocating parts such as link chains and the like, the operating speed and therewith the production can naturally be increased and the costs of maintenance are reduced to a minimum.

The above mentioned important advantages in the new method for undulating and applying of textile goods to a base layer are achieved according to the present invention in that the undulation is carried out by pressing in the textile good by means of a first tooth roll into the teeth of a second tooth roll, a plurality of teeth being always in engagement with each other and that the textile good remains in said teeth until after glueing thereof to said base layer. It shall be understood that textile good includes all textile materials which are suitable for undulating and glueing. The textile good may therefore consist of single loosely connected fibres, a fibre gauze, felt, single or multiple twine yarns or webs, it being of no consequence of which material said textile good consists, be it wool, cotton, linen, animal hair or plant fibre or be it synthetic textile products such as synthetic silk or fully synthetic materials such as nylon. By base layer any sort of web-like material shall be understood which is suitable for glueing to the undulated textile good. It may consist of textile fabric or felt, however, also other web-like materials may be used according to the application be it leather, paper, synthetic plastic materials or even metal foils, rubber plates and the like. According to the invention it is also possible that the binding material such as rubber synthetic resin or any other suitable glueing material forms the base layer.

According to the invention the apparatus for carrying out the new method is characterised by two rotating rolls rates Patent having teeth which engage each other. A further important feature of the new method lies in the fact that the undulating operation is carried out under the influence of heat. A number of previous methods and apparatus already use such heat which, however, is only used to glue the undulated textile good to the base layer. It is not known as yet to make use of heat for the undulating operation.

A further advantage is achieved by carrying out the undulating operation under heat and moisture. In the new method the danger exists when materials are used which are dilficult to form. The latter will, after pressing into the teeth of the second tooth roll, not remain therein since due to their high elasticity they will leave the grooves between the teeth. Due to application of heat and if necessary also of moisture the textile good is fixated in its undulated form such that the operation may be carried out with high speeds. The application of heat in the new method is suitably achieved by heating at least one of these tooth rolls whereby the textile good may also be moistened if necessary. Under moistening any application of moisture to the textile good shall be understood, i. e. the textile good may be inserted or dipped in water or passed through wet rolls or moistened by means of liquid jets or treated with vapor or dew.

According to the new method the base layer will be coated on its one side with a binding material as is well known if the base layer is not constituted by this binding material itself. The base layer is thereby carried to the second roll containing the undulated textile good so that base layer and textile good are glued together and the product may be drawn out of the teeth of the second roll immediately after the glueing operation. In order to improve the glueing of the base layer to the undulatedtextile good it is suitable to press the base layer by means of a transporting ribbon against the second tooth roll carrying the textile good; a similar pressure may also be applied to the base layer by making use of at least one pressure roll or by combining a transporting ribbon with at least one pressure roll.

According to a further aspect of the invention the apparatus having two rolls provided with fixed teeth is further characterised in that the rolls are provided with lamina-like fixed teeth, the teeth of the second roll taking up the textile good being provided with grooves to retain the textile good therein. In order to achieve a strong undulation it has proved advantageous to use steel laminas, those laminas which are adapted to hold the textile good being suitably provided with sharp edged grooves extending on their longitudinal sides. In order to permit undulation of the textile good under heat it is suitable to heat at least one of the rolls. It is, however, an advantage if both rolls are heated.

In order that the invention may be better understood and put into practice embodiments thereof will now be described by way of example and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is an embodiment of the apparatus one part of the apparatus being shown in elevation. and the other in cross-section,

Fig. 2 shows a longitudinal section through the apparatus according to Fig. 1,

Fig. 3 is a detail view showing the lamina-like teeth of the two tooth rolls, their engagement and the forming of the undulation in the textile good,

Fig. 4 shows a modification of the pressure roll, and

Fig. 5 is a detail view of a lamina-like tooth.

The apparatus as shown in Figs. 1 and 2 consists of the machine frame, namely the two front plates 1 being connected by transverse members 2. On the front plates the two bearing shields 3 are mounted. These serve to support the two tooth rolls, i. e. the forming roll 4 into which I or having teeth of different height.

the textile good is pressed and the pressing roll 5 which presses the textile good into the forming roll 4. Both rolls are of tubular shape. The forming roll 4 is supported by the two flanges6 and 7. Flange 7 'is rigidly seated'on the shaft 3 which is fixedly connected with the gear wheel 9 over which the whole machine is driven, i. e. the roll 5 and'the remainingparts of the machine are all driven over the gear wheel9 and the forming roll 4. It is, however, possible to impart a direct drive to each of the rolls or the machine could also be driven over another one of the rolls. The shaft 8 is supported on its one side at the plate 3 and at its other side by means of a pivot 11 over a ball bearing in the 'tube 10. The nonrotating tube is supported by means of ball'b'earings at the one side on the rotatableflange 7 and is connected on the other side with the plate 3. This arrangement permits the provision of a non-rotating heating system in the interior of the rotating forming roll 4. In the described embodiment heat is produced by an electrical heating system which, however, could also be substituted by a vapor, hot water or gas heating system. In the described embodiment a heating rack 12 is arranged on the tube 10 which carries the heating coils 13 consisting of electrical resistance wires. The current is fed to the heating system over the cable 14 suitable provision being made by dividing of the heating coils or other measures to permit adjustment of the heat output according to the necessities of each case. A definite advantage of the apparatus consists in that the heated rolls are supported on non-rotating shafts the heating elements being arranged in the interior of the rolls on these shafts whereby in the case of electrical heating the provision of moving contacts or collectors may be avoided.

The pressing roll 5 is journalled corresponding to the forming roll 4. The roll '5 is also of tubular form and is supported by the two flanges 15 which themselves are journalled by means of ball hearings on the central tube 16 carrying on a rack 17 the heating coil 18 which is connected to a source of current over the cable 19. The tube 16 is rigidly connected with the two gear wheels 20 their excentric hub 21 being supported in the plate 3. The two gear wheels 20 engage the two gear wheels 22 which are seated on the shaft 23 the latter being journalled in the plate 3. If the shaft 23 is rotated at its portion 24 of rectangular cross-section by means of a key (not shown) the two gear wheels 21 are rotated by a corresponding amount so that the distance'of the pressing roll 5 with respect to the forming roll 4 is varied according to the angular position'of the eccentric 21. In

other words, by rotating the shaft 23 it is possible to vary the distance between theaxis of the roll pressing in the textile good and the axis of the roll receiving the textile good. This permits the undulating of materials of different thickness and it is thereby also possible to vary the height of the undulation. A specific advantageof this machine consists also in that the two tooth rolls are journalled on each side together with a support or a plate and may be removed from the machine as a complete unit. Thereby it is possible to replace any pair of rolls by a different pair of rolls having for instance another pitch of the-teeth-arranged at their circumference The textile good 25 is fed according to its type of material by means of a roll or a warp grating or any other sort of stapling device over rolls 26 to the machine. Thereby the textile good. can be led on its path to the machine over a moistening device as indicated schematically in Fig. l the moistening device consisting for example of a roll 27 dipping the textile good into a tray 28 filled with water. According to the type of textile good this moistening device may, however, also be omitted or replaced by another device in which the textile good is only moistened by means of a'wet rail or in which the textile good is sprayed with water or treated with dew or vapor.

From the moistening device the textile good is fed tothe two rolls 4 and 5 for undulating, the heated rolls ensuring an undulation of relatively rigid form. The textile good remains in the roll 4 due to the teeth 29 (see Fig. 5) having hooks 30 which retain the textile good while the teeth of the pressing roll 5 are even. From the other side of the machine the base layer 31 is fed over rolls 32 towards the forming roll 4. In its base a device is arranged to provide the base layer with a suitable'binding material. This device is shown in Fig. l as consisting of roll 32 which is in contact with the passing base layer and which sits in a tray 34 filled with binding material. Naturally also other types may be arranged to provide the base layer with the binding-material, a number of such devices are well known to those skilled in the art. The base layer provided with the binding material passes over a ribbon 35 to the forming roll 4. The ribbon 35 is guided on two rolls 36 which are journalled over ball bearings not shown on the nonrotating shafts 37 the latter being supported in the two front plates 1. The ribbon 35 has a number of functions since it serves as feed'belt for the base layer 31 and at the same time for the finished carpet 33 and in addition its main function is to press the base layer against the textile good. The ribbon 35 is thereby arranged such that the pressure exerted by this ribbon is directed against the side of the r0114 and against the pressure ofthe roll 5. Thus it is a particular advantage that the ribbon is arranged in such a manner around the roll receiving the textile good that the pressure of this ribbon acts against the side of said roll and the pressure of the pressing roll. In order to carry out this function the ribbon 35 is tensioned by means of a special roll 39 and additionally pressed by a further roll 40 against the roll 4. The configuration of the tensioning roll 39 and of the pressing roll 40 is identical with the only exception that the pressure roll presses upwards and the tensioning roll acts downwards. Therefore only the roll 4!) with its tensioning device will be described in more detail, these particulars also being valid for the roll 39. The roll 40 (Fig. 4) is journalled over ball hearings on the stationary shaft 42. The ball bearings are not arranged at the ends of the roll but are displaced somewhat towards the middle since by means of this bearing arrangement the roll 40 will be subjected to smaller deflections and will therefore be able to apply a uniform pressure over its whole length. The relatively thin shaft may be deflected without producing any undesirable effects since the ends of this shaft 42 are provided with ball shaped heads 43, supported in suitably formed levers 44. The levers 44 are rigidly seated on a tube 45 which is rotatably arranged in the front plate 1. In the middle of the tube '45 a torsion bar 47 is secured by means of bolts 46, which bar is supported with its other end over the sleeve '48 in the tube 45 and which carries at its very end the lever 49. The lever 49 is provided at its lower end with a fork-shaped portion50 (Figs. 1 and 2) and its tension may be increased or decreased according to the circumstances by means of a crank 51 and the two threaded shafts 53 arranged in the two supports 52 over the cross-piece 54 and the gliding blocks 55. Since the tensioning forces according to the widths of the machine may be in the magnitude of several tons, it is very suitable that the pressure and tensioning rolls for the feed ribbon are each under the action of one torsion bar, this arrangementpermits the avoidance of the spiral springs, which take up much space, while ensuring that the pressure and the tension are applied sufiiciently elastically. This is especially important when the machine is put into operation where it is possible that too much material is placed between the feed ribbon and thepressing roll and therefore a certain resilience of the ribbon 35 and the roll 40 are necessary.

The construction of rolls 4 and 5 is shown in more detail in Fig. 3. for the production of boucl-carpets it is necessary to Since the machine is mainly intended be able to produce undulations of sutficiently fine size. Due to the fact that the textile good lies between the teeth the latter are of lamina-like configuration. In order to ensure a relatively stable undulation under the etfect of heat and if necessary of moisture it is important that a plurality of teeth remain in engagement in order to allow sufficient time for the heat treatment. On the other hand this arrangement permits also to achieve undulations which are relatively deep without the teeth contacting each other due to the relatively small pitch. This would produce undesirable effects at the textile good, in which damages might occur. It is therefore necessary that both tooth rolls have a sufficient number of teeth for instance 180 at a pitch of 4 mm. or less and a depth of undulation of nearly 5 mm. or even more. It is therefore also clear why all apparatus working with chains or other movable parts instead of the fixed unmovable teeth would be completely unsuitable for this purpose since it is no more possible to arrange links or rolls at a pitch of this small size. It is naturally possible to produce the roll such as by milling the teeth out of the roll cylinder. This is, however, very complicated and costly, especially in consideration of the fact that the teeth or laminas must consist of hardened steel to withstand the high load applied upon undulation of the textile good. An arrangement which has proved very suitable for the purpose at hand is to secure the laminae 29 of hardened steel in pairs in recesses of the rolls 4 and 5, respectively by means of distancing pieces 56 the latter being provided with small grooves or being of slightly undulated form in order to ensure a resilient fixation of the laminae and to prevent inadvertent loosening of the distancing pieces during operation.

The method of operation of the described machine will now be clear. After the textile good 25 is pressed into the teeth of the forming roll 4 the base layer 31 covered with the binding material is led to the roll 4 by means of the feed ribbon 35 so that the base layer is glued to the undulated textile good, this glueing operation being carried out under the help of the heating of roll 4 on the one hand and on the other hand of the tension of the ribbon 35 and the pressure of the roll 40. Thereby it is ensured that in the moment in which the feed ribbon 35 leaves the roll 4 the base layer and the textile good are glued together with such strength that the textile good will come off the hooks 30 of the roll 4, e. g. will remain glued to the base layer and will leave the machine as finished carpet. The glueing material is then dried completely. It will naturally be possible to change the boucl-carpet into a normal plushcarpet by cutting of the undulations. The machine is not limited in its application to the production of carpets since also other similar textile goods may be produced such as covers, furniture cloth or the like.

By removing the two plates 3 together with the complete rolls 4 and 5 it is possible to substitute new rolls 4 and 5 with a difierent number of teeth or different pitch or different depth of undulation within a very short time, in order to produce various different products.

I claim:

1. A continuously operating apparatus for undulating textile goods and applying an adhesive base layer thereto comprising a forming roll and a pressing roll, laminalike teeth in the form of removable fixed thin blades protruding in spaced arrangement radially from said forming roll and from said pressing roll respectively, said teeth of said forming roll and said pressing roll being arranged in meshing relationship, said teeth of said pressing roll being adapted for pressing said textile goods into spaces between teeth of the forming roll, hooks on at least one side of said teeth of the forming roll and adapted to retain said textile goods within each of said spaces during a determinable part of each revolution of said forming roll, guide rolls, an endless ribbon guided by said guide rolls, and adjustable tensioning rolls tensioning said ribbon into pressing relationship against a substantial part of the circumference of the forming roll for feeding and pressing said adhesive base layer to the undulated textile goods on the forming roll and carrying away both the base layer and the undulated textile goods adhering thereto.

2. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 comprising means for heating said press roll and said forming roll.

3. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 comprising at least one additional pressure roll adapted for adjustably pressing said endless ribbon toward said forming: roll and pressing thereby the adhesive base layer against the undulated textile good.

4. Apparatus as claimed in claim 3 comprising levers, torsion bars connected with said pressure and said tensioning rolls by means of said levers and adapted for pressing said pressure roll against said endless ribbon towards said forming roll and for tensioning said endless ribbon respectively.

5. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 comprising eccentrics, the distance between the axes of said pressing roll and said forming roll being adjustable by means of said eccentrics.

6. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 comprising distance pieces, said lamina-like teeth consisting of hardened steel secured in recesses on said rolls by means of said distance pieces pressed into said recesses.

7. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 comprising a common support, said forming and said pressing rolls being arranged with each end in said common support so that said rolls can be removed from and inserted into said apparatus as a unit.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,628,554 Pagano May 10, 1927 1,954,881 List Apr. 17, 1934 2,044,987 Kidd June 23, 1936 2,091,744 Walker et al Aug. 31, 1937 2,302,566 Minkow Nov. 17, 1942 2,539,356 Sidebotham Jan. 23, 1951 2,553,017 Sterner May 15, 1951 2,680,469 Ahier et al. June 8, 1954 2,684,707 Getz July 27, 1954 

